The 3535 Foundation is dedicated to promoting and encouraging the study of 1689 ecclesiology, a significant contribution to Reformed Theology as articulated in the Second London Baptist Confession. This doctrine, though rooted in the past, holds immense relevance for our present-day understanding of the church and its ministry.
Have you ever pondered over the essence of 1689 ecclesiology? Can you articulate its uniqueness and how it differs from the Westminster Confession of Faith? Is it merely a matter of baptism? How do they differ in their teaching about the keys of Christ’s Kingdom? What sets apart Presbyterian synods from Baptist Associations? Do these differences matter? These are the intriguing questions that we invite you to explore.
Can you explain how the keys of the kingdom that Jesus gives to the church in Matthew chapters 16 and 18 apply to the local church? Is there a practical application of these “keys” to ministry? Do they only apply to church discipline? What relationship do the keys of the kingdom have to the promise of Christ building His church in such a manner that the gates of Hades won’t overcome it? What are the “keys of knowledge” (Luke 11:32), and how do they relate to the keys of the kingdom?
John Cotton’s book The Keys of the Kingdom played a significant role in the ecclesiastical debates of 17th-century London, which are very much related to the development of 1689 ecclesiology. John Cotton writes about the keys of faith and order, authority and rule. Do you know what these are and how they relate to the power and authority of Christ to call, institution, order, or government of the church (LBCF 26.4)?
The 3535 Foundation hopes to facilitate the study and discussion of these and many other questions among our local church ministries. These are the questions the original writers and singers of our Confession wrestled with as they composed the 1689 Confession and sought to build their ministries according to the mind of Christ (LBCF 26.7, 8, 15).
The conference and the transcribed books that the 3535 Foundation is offering are intended to help pastors, seminary students, and lay believers to understand and appropriate the promise of Christ in the building of His church and His gift of His keys as contributing to the means He uses for opening and closing the gates of Heaven to us.
We hope you will attend our conferences and read the books we publish in your local church ministry.
For the glory of Christ and His Church
Douglas VanderMeulen